Multimodal metaphors in select Internet political cartoons on Nigeria’s insecurity crisis

Abstract

This article examines the patterns and functions of Internet political cartoons relating to the insecurity crisis in Nigeria, with a view to identifying the conceptual metaphors that underlie the creation of the political cartoons. Forty cartoons, drawn from digital platforms, were analysed qualitatively using aspects of Forceville’s multimodal metaphor theory. The findings reveal that the verbal and pictorial resources in the political cartoons enhance the conceptualization of the multimodal metaphors inherent in them. The study also shows that the multimodal metaphors lay bare the dangerous nature and dimensions of the insecurity crisis in Nigeria. The study concludes that identifying and analysing the multimodal metaphors in the political cartoons is a good method to demonstrate the pervasive concern about insecurity in Nigeria.